


I Will be Your Shield Excerpt

by rebonae



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Inspired by Wreck-It Ralph (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 14:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17163362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebonae/pseuds/rebonae
Summary: For a future Overwatch fic inspired by Wreck it Ralph.A nameless Player Character experiences a shocking malfunction during a match. She approaches Reinhardt for assistance, yet doing so causes her player's game to crash and disconnect. Reinhardt tries to figure out why she would do something so drastic on her first day.





	I Will be Your Shield Excerpt

“Why did you do it?” he asks.

He sits in a large chair, legs slightly open, and his arms drape lazily across the back of the chair. Across from him was a player avatar, dressed in the standard skin for a female avatar taking on the role of Widowmaker; a plain white shirt, dark brown cargo pants, and a harness belted around her hips. The visor normally perched upon her head sits in her lap, her grappling hook gear sits at her feet, and the venom mine gauntlet sits on the small round table nearby. Her head hangs low, and her shoulders twitch and tremble. The silence between them grows heavy.

Reinhardt looks at the avatar, brows furrowing, and lip twitching. He begins to frown when she doesn’t answer.

“Why did you come to me, in the middle of the match?” he asks again.

The silence stretches again, and Reinhardt is about to get up, to hang the threat of the technical complaint report- that Sombra graciously intercepted -over the avatar’s head to get an answer (though he feels ill at the thought of doing that) when he barely catches what she says.

“.....scared…..”

“What was that?”

She looks up at him, and Reinhardt’s frown deepens when he sees the fear in her eyes.

“I was scared… Reinhardt- I…” she gulps. She looks down at her hands, fiddling with the connector strap for the venom mine gauntlet. She hopes that not having to look him in the eye would help her find her voice, but she stutters nonetheless.

“Something must be wrong with me...with my code, I-I felt… This doesn’t happen, does it?”

She looks up at Reinhardt again, mouth drawn in a tight frown. He frowns back.

“What’s not supposed to happen?” he asks, sitting up straighter.

“What happens when you get shot at? What do you feel?” she counters.

“Nothing. I feel nothing... “ Reinhardt feels the dread slowly spread throughout his stomach when she looks away.

“Your vision is coded in a way that you are able to see through the eyes of the player. You see your health bar, your ultimate meter, and you can see the red streaks signaling what direction you got hit from. But...you shouldn’t feel a thing…” he explains. Her level is rather low- level 1, in fact -and he assumes that this is all overwhelming for her.

“What platform is this played on?”

“PC.”

Her hands clench the edge of the bed hard, and she goes silent again.

Reinhardt sighs, “I understand being loaded in for the first time can be rough, and scary. But you’ll get used to it soon--”

“I felt pain.” she interrupts, voice wavering.

“...What?”

“I felt something, when Tracer shot at me. It felt...like a sharp vibration? Like...when you hear Lucio’s sound boop-thing knock people back, you can hear that’s a vibrating sound, yeah?”

Reinhardt looks at her, skeptical, but nods tentatively.

“Imagine that, but actually in your skin...under it...and it’s sharp and it hurts, like actual lasers, or bullets, or a sword. I knew going into this that you weren’t supposed to feel anything, but...I did. And when I noticed Soldier: 76 had spotted me, I continued to hide. When I saw you, I was  **_terrified_ ** . The thought of being shot at by stronger blasts from Seventy-six’s gun was disconcerting, but if being shot at hurt  _ that _ much by Tracer- who was a decent distance away, and shooting at an awkward angle -being smashed with a hammer, or pinned to the wall was horrifying to think about. I figured...I hoped I could do something to get help, and since I was behind your lines, I figured you or Lucio would be the best to approach, since you two seem to be the nicest of your team.”

She snorts, shaking her head ruefully. “Only, I probably should have moved around and tried to get Lucio’s attention. If you didn’t stop to think about what I was doing, I would have been pinned to the wall.” 

Reinhardt notices the way her hands tremble as she finishes her sentence. He sighs deeply, bringing a hand to his face. He feels horrible; for her, and for not trusting her earlier, having Zenyatta keep an eye on her as he went to consult Sombra on the matter. He’s never seen anything like this before, and he doesn’t know what to do.

“Tell you what,” Reinhardt begins, words muffled behind his hand as he drags it down his face. “Why don’t you stay here for now, and I’ll see if I can talk to some of the others about this.”

He beams at her, for her benefit, and his smile becomes genuine when he sees her face soften.

“I am nothing, if not a crusader! And as a crusader, it is my duty to help those in need! Do not worry, for I will see this done.”

He laughs along with her, and thinks,  _ Maybe everything will be fine. _


End file.
